Brickmaking machine



v July 7, 1925.

W. H. M CLELLAND BRIC KMAKING MACHINE Filed bec. 15; 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 7, 1925. 1,545,340

w. H. MCCLELLAND BRICKMAKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 15. 1924 e Sheets-Sheet 2 July 7, 1925.

w. H. MCCLELLAND BRICKMAKING MACH'INE Filed Dec. 15, 1924 e sheets-sheet 5 Wan-M July 7, 1925.

w. H. M' vCLELLAND BRICKMAKING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec July 7, 1925.

w. .H. MOCLELLAND BRiCKMAKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 15, 1924 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jul 1, 1925.

' W. H. M CLELLAND BRICKMAKING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Dec. 15. 1924 Patented July 7, 1925. i

UNITED STATES A N 0F ac i WILLIAM H. McCLELLAND, or HUNTINGDON, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIe on, BY MEsNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO ROY r; DAVIS, or MOUNT UNION, PENNSYLVANIA.

BBICKMAKING MACHINE.

Application filed December 15 19 24 Serial 1101755344.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that lVILLIAivr H. MoCLnL- LAND, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Huntingdon, in the county of Huntingdon and State of Pennsyl- Vania, has invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brickmaking Machines, of which the followingis a specification.

My inventionrelates to brick making machines and more particularly to machines for making silica brick. j

The object of my invention is to provide efficient means forautomatically moving the mold supports with molds thereof! to fillin and dumping positions respectively. V

Other and further objects of the invention will be in part obvious and in part described as the specification is proceeded with. i

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a briok' making machine showing the invention; a v i V Figure 2 is a plan view of the carriage, one

' side being broken away; 7

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the invention; r i

Figure 4 is a detail side elevation of the mold block mold block Figure 5 is a detail side elevation of the carriage; i a V Figure 6 is a section on the line 6--6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a detail section throughthe Figure 8 is a detail view of the carriage operating cam; g u Figure 9 is an end elevation partly in section of the carriage operating cam;

Figures wand 11 are detail views of the mold plate supporting and actuating arms; Figure 12 is a detail view of the mold lift shaft bearing; e i.

Figure 13 is a side elevation partly in section of the carriage guide wheel;

Figure 14 is a detail end. view of the bottomcarriage track;

Figure 15 is a bottom plan view of the uppertrack; and I V Figure 16 is a section on the line 1616 Referring more particularly to the drawings wherein like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several vlews, 1 represents the reciprocating carriage of the brick maklng machine upon which the mold supports, hereinafter described, are

mounted. The carriage 1 comprises end uprights or beams 2, and horizontally dis-' posed top and bottom connecting beams 3, corner angle braces 31'beingemployed for an obvious purpose. Axles 4 extend between i 4 the bottommost connecting beams 3 ateach end of the carriage and have mounted thereon the grooved wheels 5. These wheels rest upon and are adapted to snugly-engage the arrow shaped treads 7 3 of the tracks 6, when V the carriage 1 is reciprocated, "in a manner hereinafter described. The tracks 6 are formed with depending flanges 71 to facilitate anchoring the tracks in the floor or other suitable base 72.

The carriage 1 is guided at its upper end by rollers 15 which engage the T rail 16,

supported in the main frame of the machine;

in any suitable manner not shown. a The rail V 16 comprises the channel 23, to'which a pair of angle beams24, are secured by any suits able means such as the bolts or rivets 25. These rollers 15 are mounted on shafts 17; supported in adjustable bearings18, in turn supported upon the U shaped "brackets 19,

mounted on the upperlend of each pair of uprights 2. Adjusting bolts 20 p'ermit of the rollers being tightly forcedfagainst the T rail 16. Upper and lower end plates 21 and 22 respectively, connect and brace the uprights 2 and the lower end plates] also serve as asupport for the mold supports hereinafter referred to. i

Reciprocation ofthe carriagel is effected by means of' a rocker element 7, comprising pairs ofspaced and downwardly diverging channel beams 8, the upper ends of which have passing therethrough a shaft 9, upon which the rocker element as a unit rocks.

The shaft f9,is mounted in suitable bearings 10 carried by the horizontally disposed beam 11, intu-rn supported by the main frame uprights 12. Thevlower end portions of the beams 8 are connected bya cross beam 13,

the intermediate side portions of which have connected thereto downwardly extending channel beams 14 and converging beams 26, connected to a plate 27 as by bolts or the like 28". ,A connecting rod '29 pivotallycon- I nected to the beam 14 and plate 27 as at 74,

connects the rocker element 7 with the re ciprocating carriage l by means of a post or upright 30 mounted on the carriage, and to whichpost the rod 29 is pivoted, as at 75.

The rocker element 7 is actuated to and fro by means of a double faced cam 32, mounted upon a shaft 38, constantly driven by any suitable means (not shown). The

face 34 of the cam engages the roller 35 on one of the channel beams Sto push the ro r e m nt w rd h r ght Fi r l and the cam face 36 engagesrthe roller 38 on the other beam 8 to move the rocker elemerit in the opposite direction tothat justdescribed. This movement of the rocker element, causes a corresponding, reciproca-v tory movement of the carriage 1.

i The double can 32 is made upof the two arms. 39 and 4Q keyed to the shaft 33. The are; 9 a a segm nt Plate 0 b te h reto, which provides the cam face 36 previeu ly f r d te, d hl m 0 a R ement pla e 1, h h ed ef wh ch b t see-m nt l tr p 42, by m an 0 belte E h eh belt 4 e s pas t reush th pl t W e e. 44 are mp y d e space apart the segmental plates 60 and 41 e ld th segm te t ip 91 h pr y d th broad cam face 34. V

S c re at a side f e end Pile $83 1 of the. carriage l by means of bolts 44 are.

pa r o s a d trans erse y d ep e d'eng e Extendingbetween the end p a es 2, wit their e ds r in e th bottom-meet e 't e ra e ehg eS re two air' of longitudinally disposed channel mein ers or i e ms -1.6 (On Ph a ac si e ofth ei plates). These channel members are secured to the end plates by angle brackets or braces h lt b ihg mpl y d. fo this purpos P jee hg up ard y f emea e o th eer age an rom vee de- 'the a gl be m an channel b am enst et h' 1 t described, are two, pair of mold shaft bearhls bra k r r 497 in hieh the meld, if shaf 5 ere jeur al d. I

7 will of course be understood that there are bo om meld P a e or meld upp rting Pl t 52+. 2 reepeeti iy- Th arm b a d ld p ates wh e in he posit u rated in gure 2, re t ree n r upp r e y oe st nge er meld lo ks v l; ferm fw th eh erd y Pliejeoting integralarms 54-"54 (there'being two arms for each mold block) through the outer apertured ends of which the respective shafts 50- 50" loosely extend for relative turning movement therein. The bottoms of the mold blocks rest upon and are supported by the cross supports 84 which in turn rest upon and extend between the. channel beams 46 of the carriage 1. The height of mold blocks can readily be adjusted by means of the adjusting bolts 76 which project upwardly from the mold block supports 84 and engage in the threaded openings 77 formed in the bottoms of the mold blocks. These beams 46 carry abutment members 6 which engage. pedestal 57 for the purpose of supporting and'brac ng the carriage l,- du.ringthe mold filling operation,

as wi e'lne f lly d s bedhefei etteh e a viw l'y deeerib d; the carriage is reciprocated by means of oscillating ock m utf n vturnf a uated to a heihy m a if he ou le fa ed] e? 2, which rotates about the axis of shaft 33..

Assuming the carriage 1 to be iniFigure 1 position or the position assumed when the carriage has been movedto the right along tracks 6 to the limit of'its movement in this direction, themold block 51 (the block to the left in Figure 1)- will be in filling position directly over the pedestal and "under the hopper (not shown) A mold 58 is now delivered from the sander (not shown) and placed on the moldplate 52, and the mud which is then released from the hopper drops down into then-101d completingthe filling operation This operation takesplace simultaneously at both sides of the maehine.

The movement of the carriage is now reversed by the action of the rocker element until figure 2 position is reached. It-may here be'noted thatweighted belts 6L are at taohed to the carriage, atjeach end thereof by means of angles 62, bolts 63 being employed for this purpose These belts which operate over rollers-64, serve to keep the tracks 6 free of m ud and grit. the weightedbelts 61 are described and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No.

755,942, filed Decemberlfi, 1924, no'further description thereof is deemed necessary. "Nhen Figure 2 position is reached the previously filled'mold on mold plate 52 will be in dumping position, and the mold 52' onthe other or right end of thecarriage will have been moved to filling position with the abutment member 56*"res'ting upon the pedestal 5-7; The left hand mold dumpshaft 50,, is now. rotated ina clockwise 1 direotion in a inannerabout to be described.

Driving shafts 64 and 64" are respectively arranged adjacentopposite ends, of'the carriage in the pathof movementof the shafts 50 50". These shafts6464 are proyided with female coupling members 65 -65 at their. respective ends adapted: to be engaged bythe corresponding male 'memb'ers 66 -;66

arms 67 -67" and connecting rods 68 68,

the connecting rods being connected to suitable actuating means (not shown); Oonsequently as the carriage 1 reaches Figure 2 position, the squared male members 66 of the shaft 50'engages-in the correspondingly shaped female members 65 of the shaft 64, and at the moment the shafts become connected for simultaneous movemengthe connecting rod 68 is elevated, causing the shaft 64: to make a partial rotation ina clocl;- wise direction. The mold plate 52 together with the filled mold thereon isthus swung upwardly and outwardly until the filled mold is delivered to a dump table (not shown) from which it is finally deposited upon the tracks 69 leading to the stripper (also not shown), where the bricks are removed from the mold, in the manner described in my copending application 7 55,939 filed December 15, 1924.

After the mold is remoyed the mold lift shaft is caused to rotate in a reverse or anti-clockwise direction sufliciently to carry the mold plate 52 over the dead center line. The carriage is now caused to move to the right to Figure 1 position, by the rocker element 7, and as this movement takes place the male member 66 on shaft 50 becomes disengaged from the female member 65 on the shaft 64. As the mold plate 52 is only supported by arms 58 when the shafts 50 and 64 are coupled, it drops of its own' weight upon the mold block 51. When the mold plate strikes the mold block any mud adhering thereto is jarred loose.

lVhen the carriage reaches its limit of movement to the right or Figure 1 position,

7 the mold on the mold plate 52 will have block 51'.

been previously filled and consequently will be ready for the dumping operation. This takes place when the squared male member 66 interlocks with or engages the cone spondingly shaped female members 65 on the shaft 61, and the shaft 64 is rotated in a clockwise direction through the medium of the arm 67 and connecting rod 68' and any suitable actuating means (not shown) for lifting the connecting rod 68. After the filled mold on plate 52 has been transferred to the dump table (not shown) the shaft 64 is slightly rotated in the opposite or counter clockwise direction sufficiently to return the mold plate to a position slightlv beyond dead center and above the mold The carriage is then moved toward the left and as this movement takes place, the shafts 50 become disconnected from the shaft 64:,thus permitting the mold lift arms 58 and the mold plate 52 to drop of their own weight, until the plate 52" strikes the mold block 51.

i The cycle of operation just described is the same on both sides of the machine. Two molds, one oneach side of the carriage are filled simultaneously andas a shaft 50 on one side of the machine is rotated to lift a filled mold, a corresponding shaft 50 on the opposite side of the machine is rotatedvby similar mechanism for the same purpose.

Having thus described: my invention, what. I claim as my invention is i 1. A brick making machine includinga carriage, a mold supporting plate swingably mounted on said Qarriage meansfor reciprocating said, carriage to move said mold supporting plate to mold filling and dumping positions and operative means for swinging said mold plate with mold thereon about a common axis when the dumping position is reached.

2. A brick making machine including a carriage, a mold supporting plate carried by said carriage, means for reciprocating said carriage to move said mold plate to mold filling and dumping positions, and means for swinging said mold plate withv mold thereon about a common axis, in a direction transverse to that of the carriage movement, operative when said dumping position is reached.

3. A brick making machine including a carriage, a mold supporting plate swingably supported by said carriage, a mold block upon which saidplate normally rests,- means forreciprocating the carriage to move the mold plate to mold filling and dumping positions, means for swinging said mold plate with mold thereon about a common axis away from said mold block to dump the mold, and then swing said mold plate in a return direction beyond dead center and releasing the same to drop by gravity upon said mold block.

4;. A brick making machine including a carriage, a mold block, a mold supporting plate swingably mounted on said carriage and normally resting on said mold block, means for reciprocating said carriage to move said plate to mold filling and dumping positions, means operable when said dumping position is reached to swing said mold plate away from said mold block to dump the mold and to cause said plate to be returned to normal position and forceably contact with said mold block.

5. A brick making machine including a carriage, a mold lift shaft journaled in said carriage, a mold blockhaving arms loosely journaled on said shaft, mold lift arms keyed to said shaft, a mold plate secured to said arms and normally resting on said mold block, means for reciprocating the carriage to move the mold plate to filling and dumping positions, means for actuating the mold lift shaft, operable when said dumping position is reached, for swinging the mold plate away from and back to contact with the mold block and means foradjusting the position of the mold block.

6. A brick making machine including a carriage, a mold lift shaft journaled in said carriage, a mold plate keyed to said shaft, 7

means at opposite ends of the machine for engaging said shaft to cause said mold plate and mold thereon to be swungabout the axis of said shaft to dun-1p said mold, means'ror reciprocating said carriage to bring opposite ends of said shaft alternately into engagement with said shaftengaging means;

7'. A brick making machine including a carriage, a mold lift shaft j'ournaled in said carriage, a mold plate swingable with said shaft, means for reciprocating said carriage normally idle, drive shafts at each end of the machine, coupling -means on the ends of said mold lift shaft adapted to engage with corresponding coupling means on said drive shafts when said carriage reaches its limit of movement in opposite directions,

and means for rotating said drive shafts operable when said coupling means are operatively engaged. In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM MGCLELLAND. Witnesses:

LILA M. PETERSON, MARY W. SHAVER; 

